Stanley Fant Slater of Windsor passed away on Feb. 20 at the age of 63.
He is preceded in death by his father, Stanley McDonald Slater, and his mother, Anne Fant Slater, both of Montgomery, AL. He is survived by his wife, Paula Galloway, of Windsor, his sister, Beth Slater Cheney of Gainesville, GA, and loving nieces and nephews as follows: Lora Clond Scott and her children Will and Maggie; David Clond and his children Julia, Hannah and Melanie; Stephen Clond; Jacob Clond; Sarah Clond; Lydia Green; Thomas Green; John Michael Galloway, Grace Galloway; Laura Cheney and her children Kyle and Tori Jones; Jennifer Cheney Crosby and her son Jake.
Remembered as a force of nature defying the confines of precise description, Stan had hobbies and professional accomplishments as grandiose as his personality. Intensely athletic, spontaneous, and thrill-seeking, he was an avid skier, fisherman, hiker, and whitewater kayaker. From camping to attending outdoor music festivals, Stan’s thirst for adventure was unquenchable.
As a young man, Stan once showed up at Paula’s door at 4 a.m. simply because he missed her and wanted to see what she was up to. As their youthful romance blossomed, it became obvious there was no better word than “soulmates” for them. From taking on grizzly bears to tackling new careers, Paula and Stan became best friends with the world before their hiking boots. However, their carefree story took a devastating turn when Stan was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1984. As the symptoms turned into physical hardship, it became apparent Stan would not allow his dreams to be contained. Instead, he adapted the world to meet his needs and, with Paula at his side, he was able to continue to follow his passions in the ways that the MS let him. Ever a bright presence in the room, Stan faced his diagnosis with humor and a strong spirit and ensured he was active in his family’s life as a beloved son, brother, and uncle. He was an inspiration to others as he continued to find adventures, from adaptive skiing to deep-sea fishing in a wheelchair-accessible boat to penning textbooks with voice-to-text software. Stan’s larger-than-life magnetism was unhampered by increasing physical constraints. Young and old alike were caught in his natural charm and he loved cats, even if they didn’t all love him. No one saw depression or anger in Stan, only a residing will to give to others no matter how much was taken from him.
In his professional life, Stan was a renowned professor of marketing at Colorado State University, where he enjoyed collaborating on projects and sharing his multitude of ideas with others. His prolific research and publications accreditations were not nearly as meaningful to him as his joy in mentoring colleagues and students. His career began in an unlikely place with an undergraduate degree in English literature, which he quickly realized was not his calling. When he attained his MBA, Stan discovered that teaching was his passion. Naturally persuasive and charismatic, Stan was most at home in front of people wanting to learn. It was only after he completed his PhD that he came to find a love of research that nearly equaled his love of teaching. Throughout his career, Stan was an inspiration to every life that he touched.
A celebration of life will be held in April at his home. A scholarship fund in Stan’s memory will be established at Colorado State University for business students facing exceptional challenges. Stan’s family requests that donations in his honor be made to the scholarship, to the National MS Society or to Ignite Adaptive Sports.
The Stanley Slater Memorial Scholarship
Stan Slater was the Charles and Gwen Lillis Professor of Business Administration at Colorado State University from 2002 – 2016. Among scholars in marketing and management, Stan was most esteemed for his work on strategy. His research included seminal articles on market orientation, marketing’s role in business strategy success, and strategies for innovation management. Stan published more than 60 articles on these and other topics. His work has received more than 30,000 citations. In 2011, Stan received the Vijay Mahajan Award for Lifetime Contributions to Marketing Strategy.
In recognition of Stan Slater’s determination and indomitable spirit and to honor the inspiration he offered to all who knew him, the College of Business at Colorado State University is establishing the Stanley Slater Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship will be given annually to a graduate or undergraduate business student facing exceptional challenges—physical, mental, personal, or financial.
To donate to The Stan Slater Memorial Scholarship , visit https://advancing.colostate.edu/STAN.
